LATN 029. Caligula and Claudius


This is an advanced Latin course, intended for students with one or more intermediate Latin courses at the college level, or c. 4 years of Latin in high school.  The emperor Gaius Caligula, famous for considering his favorite racehorse for the office of consul, raises urgent questions about what we consider normal in our leaders. The emperor Claudius, made generally famous by the classic TV series "I Claudius," presents similar questions. He was a transformative figure in Roman imperial history, responsible for the creation of a civil service, expansion of the Roman citizenship, and the conquest of Britain. But he also had medical problems, and made some spectacularly inappropriate marriages. The principal Latin texts will be Suetonius' Life of Gaius Caligula, Tacitus' bitter account of Claudius in his Annals, and selected documents (inscriptions and Latin papyri). We will also read Seneca's exposition of Stoic ideals in his de Providentia, and Seneca's (?) Apocolocyntosis, a spoof account of Claudius' posthumous journey to heaven.
Can serve as an honors preparation when combined with a one credit attachment.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics  
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics


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